Chris Paul is one of the best point guards from his generation and possibly all time. While the guard has never won an NBA Championship, few can rival his longevity, defensive prowess, and playmaking ability in NBA history. Every franchise he has been a part of has been better off because of his presence, and that is no coincidence. CP3 instills a winning culture wherever he goes.
However, Paul has a very unfortunate distinction attached to his name. Over the course of his career, CP3 has played for 5 franchises. The New Orleans Hornets (now Pelicans), Los Angeles Clippers, Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Phoenix Suns.
Out of those 5 franchises, 4 of them have been through ownership changes while he was on the team. The Phoenix Suns haven’t had the change just yet but are scheduled to have it soon, with Robert Sarver announcing that he will be selling the team after an investigation into his workplace behavior at the Suns. Reddit user u/ufaselol made fans aware of this.
The Circumstances That Led To These Teams Switching Ownership
Naturally, CP3 being on the team didn’t end up being the reason why these teams were sold. The Hornets were bought by the NBA for $300 million from owner George Shinn in 2010 when Paul was on the team. The league controversially vetoed a trade to send CP3 to the Lakers after the ownership change but would end up trading him to the Clippers before new ownership came in 2012.
The Clippers’ story would have a much more public ending as Donald Sterling was forced to sell the team by the NBA after being embroiled in a heated racism scandal. The team was then purchased by current owner Steve Ballmer in 2014, and Paul would be traded to the Rockets in 2017, where the team was purchased by Tillman Fertita just as CP3 arrived.
The Oklahoma City Thunder didn’t go through an ownership change in Paul’s one season there, but the Suns will be going through that now in 2022, 2 years after they acquired Paul in a trade from the Thunder.
